Details

Mobile wearable devices are a growing segment of mobile devices that complement the more popular smartphones and tablets. Over the last 12 to 18 months, the industry has seen many new products launched, and it is becoming apparent that although wearable devices can still be broadly categorized into fitness-tracking wearables and smart watches, the functionality of the two are starting to converge.

For this report, iGR defines a mobile wearable device as one that is worn on a person’s body, provides significant information and functionality to the wearer, and is usually connected and synchronized to a smartphone. The two general purposes of a wearable device are to make information (usually from a nearby smartphone) more easily accessible to the wearer and to gather the wearer’s physical data, which can then be displayed and analyzed using applications on the wearable device or a smartphone.

Although smartphones’ convenient display of time has made standard watches obsolete for many young consumers, the instantaneous information provided by smart watches and fitness wearable devices may once again make wearing a device on the wrist a commonplace occurrence.

This market study discusses two groups of wearable devices – fitness tracking devices and smart watches – and provides updates on the products that are available in the market. The study also provides results from iGR’s latest survey of U.S. consumers, which quantified consumers’ familiarity with, interest in, and current use of these devices. Further, it includes profiles of many companies that provide products for the wearable device market.

The study also includes a five-year global forecast for the sales of both smart watches and fitness tracking devices at the global level and for the five regions of North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific. The sales of smart watches are further delineated according to the platform of the device – Android, iOS or Other. Finally, the study forecasts the mobile data usage impact of both types of wearable devices.

Key Questions Answered

What percentage of U.S. consumers currently uses fitness wearable devices and smart watches?

What types and brands of wearable devices do U.S. consumers currently use?

What percentage of U.S. consumers are familiar with fitness tracking devices and smart watches? How has their familiarity changed in the last 12 months?

What percentage of U.S. consumers are interested in purchasing a fitness tracking device or a smart watch? How has this interest changed in the last 12 months?

How much are consumers willing to spend on smart watches and how does that price compare to the current average sales price?

What demographic trends are apparent in U.S. consumers’ use of and interest in wearable devices?

What is the five-year sales forecast for fitness tracking wearable devices and smart watches at the global level and the regional level?

What is the five-year sales forecast for smart watches according to the type of smart watch – iOS, Android or Other?

What is the five-year data usage forecast for fitness tracking wearable devices and smart watches at the global level and the regional level?

How does the amount of data usage influenced by wearable devices compare to the overall amount of mobile data usage?

Which companies currently provide fitness tracking devices and smart watches?